Why would I do things that suck? By their very definition they are things that are unpleasant and generally not fun. These are the things that torment us by their very existence. Wait, this is too broad a scope. For today’s purpose we are going to limit our discussion to the realm of fitness and health. Not in health, ‘I need a root canal or major surgery’ kind of way, but the I have to lose 20lbs kind. The I’ve committed to Run a marathon kind of talk and the ‘oh MY GOD’ moment that comes when you actually train for it.
The Hard Truth
Let’s be honest, doing the things that are hard isn’t pleasant. Speaking for myself, losing 100lbs may have been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. When that alarm goes off, you have to get out of bed and head to the gym. No one will do the work for you and no one would care if you rolled over and went back to bed. That’s the truth. At the end of the day the only person that can choose to get up before the sun and do the work is you. All the things that make up a normal day, plus the extra things, diet, exercise and sleep that are required to see results. You will miss out on the large plate of nachos and you will have to do those extra Burpees to get ahead. Every one of those things will have varying degrees of suffering, but this isn’t about the moment, it’s about the end goal.
Challenging Yourself
I created the #BigBrnzChallenge as a way to do the extra things. It forces me to do something (hopefully above and beyond) the regular work in a month. Chipping away at a weakness or forcing me to look for an improvement. I certainly would not have Run 50KMs in May without the challenge. I hope that you see the value in playing along. The movements aren’t difficult, but they might not always be fun. They challenge each of us to do a little bit more to be a little bit better. Every drop of sweat you invest now will pay off tomorrow, the next day and well into the future. It’s also why I encourage you to tag yourself doing the #BigBrnzChallenge (with the hashtag). Suffering is always more fun when you do it as a group and knowing that others are there doing it with you, makes it a little bit easier.
So what have we learned today? Hopefully that you should be challenging yourself everyday to do just a little more work. That no one will do the work for you and that pushing yourself can be tough. You should also take away that just because something isn’t fun, doesn’t mean that it isn’t helping you. Sure are days when Running is TERRIBLE or just plain slow. Days when the weights just won’t go, no matter what you do and days where there just isn’t anything left to give. Don’t worry, those days will happen. They have to in order for us to learn perseverance. Do the work anyway. Run a little slower, lift a little less, but don’t stop.
Challenge Yourself, do the things that Suck.
Beez
